Keagan's view
by Star Quest
Summary: This story is set between the end of the first book and the beginning of the second one. I was really excited to create two new characters that are closely connected to Doon and Lina. JUST UPDATED WITH CHAPTER 5!
1. Meet Keagan

Prologue:

Keagan. Her bright golden locks fell effortlessly behind her perfect ears. Her baby blue eyes resembled her mothers, and she stood very slender. They were refugees of Ember. She felt safe now, they were out of the unknown. The lights of Ember always powered the way, without them they'd be lost.

KEAGAN'S VIEW:

Lina Mayfleet, who knew she'd be the one who would save Ember? She always was content and shy in the school house. She stuck to herself a lot, but she did talk to others enough to make the current teacher happy.

I guess that everyone thought she was so bubbly and full of personality. From what I could gather, she was secretly holding herself together through drawing. She drew pictures of what she thought the rest of the world looked like. No one thought there was more to the world. Well we actually all did, but we never mentioned it.

Poppy was cute. I wish she was my little sister. I would love when she'd come running to greet Lena saying "WE-NA! WE-NA! WE-NA!" I was jealous. I did have a younger sister named Paisley. As you can see, in Ember we like to have unique names! Well back to Paisley, she never greeted me as "KWEAGON!" or whatever. She always knew how to talk properly, even when she was 2 months old. My mom called her the prodigy child, basically referring to me as the mental child. It always made me mad!

Doon, oh how I loved him. Most people would call him a weirdo, but to me he was always knowledgeable. This is mostly why I was jealous of Lina. I somehow could sense that Doon was in love with Lina. Why not me? I was so much smarter and prettier than her!

THE ESCAPE:

When I heard Lina and Doon ran away I thought they went to go get married or something. It never fazed me that they had found the exit to Ember. I mean how two 12 year old kids could find the exit when even our mayor couldn't. Then when the letter was found it changed everything.

The mayor tried to sneak out without letting any of us know. He was like that, always hiding things from the people of Ember. Of course only the children noticed that he tended to do that. Mostly because we had better insights than the adults did. We were raised smarter than them. I wouldn't let him go without paying the price. I followed the directions with all of my things I needed to bring down to the exit. I found the mayor there. I took my knife which I brought to carve some wood for fun. I stabbed him in the back with all my strength. I felt good, but I couldn't tell anyone what I did.

Then everyone came rampaging down into Pipeworks. It looked like it was an accident, but I knew the truth. Keagan Morang, a killer. We all got onto the boats and traveled down the underground river. I held Paisley tighter than I had ever held her. She was still trying to comprehend everything that the letter had said. She was very smart but still had the common sense of a 4 year old. She screamed as loud as the other young children had.

Finally we all reached the end of the river. It opened up to a small shallow pool. Paisley climbed onto my back. She was chocking me, but I wasn't bothered by it. She was scared and she should be.

Once we were all out of the boats, we heard familiar voices, it was Doon and Lina! They were coming down the rock cliff to our left.

"You guys found our letters! I am so excited! Me and Doon were sorry to just leave, but we had to save Ember. We hope that none of you have a grudge towards us for this reason. Now, is the mayor here?" exclaimed Lina

I knew I had to speak up.

"No." I trembled out

"Very well then, he was lying to all of you. This may come to as a shock to you, but the mayor was secretly stealing all of our supplies for himself. May I ask where he is?" Lina replied

She replied so gracefully. I knew that I did a good thing. No one would consider me a killer, but a HERO!

"Anyone?" ask Doon

Doon. He looked amazing.

"I—I killed him! There I said it. I stabbed the mayor in the back. I made it look like he got run over by all the people running in Pipeworks. I KILLED HIM!" I screamed

"Keagan, you did nothing wrong. I knew I had shared my feelings about him with you before school was out. Once you guys received the letter, Keagan had reason to believe he had something to do with it." Sympathized Lina

My mother ran to my side. She kissed my soften cheek. How could she love a killer so much? How could she love me? How could the person who I envy act so nice to me? How did I deserve any of this treatment? I guess it was the Ember treatment.

"Keagan, don't worry! He was a bad guy!" suggested Paisley

Those simple words didn't lead me to Poppy, but to my sister Paisley. For once I was happy to have a perfect sister like Paisley. Maybe she wasn't like Poppy, but she knew that simple words got to my heart. I gave her a firm hug.

"I know, I know, I know. Thank you Paisley, so much. The mayor had always had schemes to steal from the people of Ember. Lina warned me, when she left I had to take some action. I love everyone here and I always will." I thanked everyone

"I love you Keagan, more than I will ever show." Paisley laughed happily

Somehow I knew that I would always love her.

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Love

We were finally out of that small congested room. I looked at Lina in a different way after that. Maybe Doon was my love, but I can't hate Lina for something she can't control. I had to talk to her. I just had to.

"L—lina, we need to talk."

"Keagan, you are a hero no matter what you say!"

"No, about not about that, about Doon."

"What about him?"

"Well, I like him, but he likes you."

"Doon, like me, nah. Make a move on him. Trust me, he doesn't like me."

"That's what you think."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I looked around. This world was so different. There was a huge light source that lit the sky. It was yellow and blinding. For some reason the space around it was blue. Just like one of Lina's drawings I saw. She was right, there was a world outside of Ember, and it was amazing. Lina said it was called "day." She did mention that "day" was the equivalent to the time when Ember had its lights on. Except when "night" fell it wasn't completely dark. A dimmer light lit the sky. This light was beautiful, white, and you could look at it.

We found some fruit to eat for dinner. It wasn't a lot, but it kept the young ones from crying. I rocked little Paisley to sleep. Once she was sleeping, I laid her on some clothes I threw into my bag of stuff. They were damp from the river journey, but they were decently soft.

I walked over to Doon. I came off a little awkward I think, but we soon started chatting! His voice was soft yet firm. For some reason he seemed like he would be a good father. Lina joined us and we talked about serious things. How are we going to get food? Where are we going to get shelter? It wasn't like houses and cans of food were going to appear out of thin air. Are there even cans of food in this place? We will have to find out.

Lina fell asleep.

"Doon, will you show me to a bathroom?"

"Well I am guessing they don't have indoor plumbing here like they did in Ember. I'm not sure try going to the bathroom in the woods."

"Will you at least walk with me?"

"That sounds very inviting…"

"You know what I meant" I laughed

"Okay."

We started on a path into the woods. It was an eerie place, but I really had to pee. Finally me and Doon found a suitable place to go to the bathroom. I jumped behind a tree to give myself some privacy.

"Doon, I know you are in love with Lina."

"What? No, I am not in love with Lina Mayfleet."

"Everyone knows you are, Doon. The only reason I am bringing this up is well bes—"

"Okay, so I'm in love with her?"

"Like I was saying, I'm in love with you Doon. Please, I know, you aren't in love with me, but I need you."

I finished going to the bathroom and ran away from the tree. Doon just looked at me in awe. Was this bad? Was this good? I am so confused. I'm not sure why I am being swept up into the world of love, but I can't bear to be away from Doon.

"Keagan…I didn't know."

"No one knew. Just me and well I told Lina. She doesn't think you're in love with her. Why can't you just love me?"

"I am not in love with you though. Keagan I can't love you. I like you as a friend, but my heart doesn't want me to love you."

One single cold tear fell from my eye. Doon came closer to me. He gave me an innocent look and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Maybe we weren't meant to fall in love, but I could tell we were going to be good friends. Very good friends!


	3. Sun Burn

I guess I completely blacked out after he wrapped his arm around me. At least I don't remember what happened next, but when I woke up I was laying next to Paisley. She blinked her eyes when I opened mine. She was so innocent. Then I began to tickle her.

"COME ON KEAGAN!! STOP! HAHA! STOP KEAGAN!!!" she shouted

"Good morning beautiful." I said to her.

I looked around. It was what Lina described as day. This place must be on a continuous cycle. That thought brought me back to thoughts of Ember. This place was brighter, but we had more in Ember. Paisley had a bed, I had a bed, we all had beds. We have come to a new place with nothing to spare.

The adults and Lina were no where to be found. I guess they went off to get food. I wish the canned fruit we had in Ember grew on trees. I got Paisley a plum before she got cranky. It would be hours until the search party came back with some decent food. I took a plum for Doon and myself.

He was still sleeping like a baby, if a baby snores. I guess I laughed too loud, because Doon awoke.

"Sorry Doon. You were just snoring loudly. It was quite funny! Anyway, I got you a plum for breakfast. I think Lina took the adults to get food. They probably won't be back for hours and little Paisley was hungry."

"Mmm, thanks! I love plums, but I don't know if I can live on them. We are going to have to find some society that will take us in."

"From how quite is has been here I'm not sure if any other people exists here. Maybe they were all right."

"Right about what?"

"That we are the only light on a dark planet. What if the meaning was more than we had electricity? What if light meant people then maybe it meant we are the only people in this world."

"You have a point there Keagan." Doon smiled

I heard a cry. It was one of the children. I ran to see who it was, and sure enough it was poor Paisley. Her skin hurt badly. I believed her, her skin was bright red.

"IT HURTS!! KEAGAN IT HURTS!"

"I know baby, I know."

I took a damp shirt and rubbed it gently on her burning skin. What is happening to Paisley?

"DOON!" I yelled

"What's going on Keagan? Is Paisley okay?" He yelled back

"Something is happening to her skin!"

People began to rush over to her side. None of us knew what was happening. This is different, nothing happened like this in Ember, and we never had that light source. Could that thing be causing it.

"Could that light source be causing it?" I asked

"How could it be?" someone asked

"I don't know but this could be serious. Someone see if they can find any adult or Lina."

"Lina is staying with Poppy. Poppy is sick as well. I think she has a cough."

"Can't you get her over here?" I asked in a snotty attitude

"Sure!" said Doon in a happy mood

Is he the only person cares about someone other than their self? I wish these kids were adults. I can't believe Lina didn't go with the adults. Maybe the adults are lost! She was supposed to be the leader of the group. Couldn't Mrs. Murdo stay with Poppy? Sometimes I just don't understand people!

"Keagan, what's wrong?" asked Lina

"I'm not sure, Paisley just started screaming. Her skin is bright red! I tried soothing it with some damp shirts. I'm not sure if it is helping though."

"Paisley, when did it start to hurt? Was it like a shock or a gradual thing?"

"I wasn't stung by anything Lina, it was gradual, I think." she cried

"Okay, let's see, this has to be something caused by the environment. You guys know how if you used to touch a light in Ember, you'd burn yourself? What if this light does the same thing?"

That was a deep thought.

"How could it burn her from that far away?" I questioned

"That I don't know, but I think we can make her better if we do what we used to do in Ember. You know sooth it with cold water." Lina replied

"Did anyone bring a full canteen?" I asked

"I did, but the water is warm now so it may not help very much. Maybe we could go back into that cliff room. Wasn't the water cold?" someone said

"Give it. It should help more than the shirts. They were more dry than wet. We need to find people somewhere. We can't be the only ones aboveground, could we?" I said

It was Gavin Corges that gave me the canteen. He was quite slender and tall. He must have grown 5 inches in the last month. Of only he had the eyes that Doon had. I took the canteen and dampened my hands, and rubbed them on Paisley's skin. She flinched. I felt so bad; I knew we had to find some kind of society, which had food, water, and shelter.

After a little while, most of the crowd disappeared over the vast landscape. We were searching for lunch. Of course Lina was taking care of Paisley and Poppy. I ran back to Lina. I had a very important message for her.

"Lina, we can't wait for them. Paisley and Poppy are sick, who knows if they have what we think. We have to find a village, a society."

"I know, but we have to wait for the adults. They said they'd all be back by nightfall. We'll set out tomorrow morning if the adults are back. I think that if we go towards those high things over there."

It was a plan. We'll leave when the light rises from below the ground.


	4. The Adults Return

They came back shortly after Paisley and Poppy had fallen to sleep. They had pillow cases filled with fruits. I didn't want to wake the girls, but they must be terribly hungry.

"Paisley, Poppy, girls wake up!"

"Kweagan, what's going on?" asked Poppy

"They're back! The adults are back, with food!"

"Keagan, I am so happy! May I please have something to eat?" asked Paisley

I picked up Poppy and Paisley. Paisley got dibs on my arms, and I put poor sick Poppy on my back. I kissed Paisley on the cheek. She smiled back at me, and then reached her hand back to touch Poppy.

"Her heads still hot Keagan."

"I know, I know. She's sick, poor girl." I said

"MOM!" yelled Paisley

"Oh my little prodigy!" my mom exclaimed

Here we go again. The little prodigy fidgeted her way out of my arms to run to mom. I took Poppy of my back and let her into my arms. I rocked her back and forth, very very slowly

"Hey, mom I'm going to take Poppy to Lina and Mrs. Murdo."

"Hurry back Keagan!" she replied

"Yea!" I yelled back pretending to listen

I must have walked for a full half hour until I found Lina and Mrs. Murdo. Each minute that I walked, I mad sure Poppy was comfortable.

"Wel—well Poppy wanted to come see you guys. She was asleep for 10 minutes, and she should probably get some more shut eye. We have to get up early tomorrow."

"Why are we getting up early?" Mrs. Murdo asked

"Oh, well were going, uh well, to see if we can find other people, Poppy needs medicine." Replied Lina

"Lina, you didn't tell me that Poppy was sick."

"I'm sorry; she didn't get sick until after you left with the other adults. I wasn't thinking about her when you guys arrived. Let's not dwell on the past."

"Well we must get to sleep, and make sure Poppy is okay. Thank you Keagan! " Mrs. Murdo insisted

"It was nothing, really." I smiled

As I walked back to my mother, I looked around. This place was even better than Lina could have drawn. It was indescribable, it was amazing.

"Mom," I looked at my mom

"Why do you always refer to Paisley as the 'prodigy child' or 'little prodigy'? Mom, it hurts, you never called me anything like that. Why is Paisley different just because she started talking when she was 2 months old? Why, Why, WHY?"

"Keagan, hunny—"

"I am not your 'hunny'."

"Okay, Keagan, listen, she is lonely. She needs to know that I still love her."

"Oh, and I don't need to be reminded that you still love me?"

"You knew that I always loved your dad. You know that he died from that cough. I don't think that Paisley quite understands that."

"Mom, she could talk in full sentences when she was 2 months old, how could she not understand? Is that the only reason why you call her that? To me that isn't much of a reason."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Baby if you had just told me I could have fixed something. I guess you're right, I don't really have a reason for calling her that."

"Yea, yea."

I single tear fell from my blue eye. I stood there awkwardly, just looking at my mom.

"I'm going to bed, mom."

I ran away from her. The farther away I got the more the tears streamed. I was sobbing so hard I woke up Paisley. I looked at her, she was the reason for my tears, but could I really blame her?

"Keagan's crying."

"I know baby. Come here. You know that mom loved dad right?"

"Of course! Daddy died from a cough, why wouldn't mom love him?"

I wanted to run and tell my mom "I told you so!"

"No reason, I just wanted to know that you knew that."

I nestled Paisley back into the shirts, which had finally dried. Once she fell asleep, I knew I could go to sleep, too. In only a few hours we would be off searching the immense and vast landscape for some clues of society. I was excited and tired.


	5. The Beginning of a Journey

"Keagan, come on get up."

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. It was Lina. I guess it was time; the light has risen from the ground.

"Lina—aaa, is it time?" I said in the middle of a yawn

"Yes, yes it is time."

I sprang from the ground as quick as I could. It wasn't as light as it was yesterday; it was grayish, and colder. Paisley was still sleeping snug in the shirts. I didn't want to wake her, so I just picked her up and rocked her back and fourth. She groaned slightly and dosed back into a deeper sleep.

The air was misty and damp, what was this?

"Ember refugees! We are to start our journey today!" yelled Doon

I heard many cheers that continued for several minutes. The ovation was the loudest I've ever heard. I continued to rock Paisley hoping she wouldn't wake.

"Baby, I'll take her." my mom offered

I handed little Paisley to my mother. I knew I had to speak to the people of Ember, so I walked over towards Lina and Doon. Lina and Doon stood perfectly together. I knew they were meant for each other.

"Lina, is Poppy doing any better?"

"No, I think she is getting worse." she frowned

"We better start walking towards the…things."

"Ember refugees, each and everyone of us must do our parts to help us find society. If you are hungry please take one piece of fruit. I believe they are pears, apples, oranges, cherries, and peaches. They do look different from the fruits we had back in Ember, but in Ember they were canned, these fruits are fresh. We will begin our journey in just a few minutes so eat something so you aren't hungry later." I said as nicely as I could

"Good job, Keagan." Lina and Doon said in harmony

"Thank you, I'm not much of a public speaker." I laughed

"Yes you are! You didn't stutter at all!" Lina smiled

"Aww you guys are the best!"

We got the group together, and walked. We led the group holding hands. Me, Lina, and Doon, we we're in separable. I am not in love with Doon anymore; we are nothing more than best friends. I guess that I just have to let destiny play its deck of cards.

The sky began to cry. I wasn't sure why water fell from the sky, but it was like taking a shower. Once the sky stopped crying, we were all soaking wet. We were walking towards these high pointy things in the distance, but they seemed to never get closer. The sky began to clear up and the grayish color faded into a beautiful blue, and an arch of colors was in the distance.

How that arch reminded me of Lina's drawings. Somehow I felt Lina's feelings; I could sense that she felt the same way. We are some how connected, but is that even possible?

"Lina, your drawings, the colors!"

"I know Keagan, I was thinking the same thing. It is just beautiful. Just perfect." Lina said in awe

"Yes, just perfect."

We were going to be great friends. The funny thing is, I was never really a friend of Lina's until we got out of Ember. I think that stupid dark place was holding her back. It wasn't just her who had changed though; everyone was a little bit nicer. I guess the blackouts really did get everyone extremely tense. I am just glad we're all safe.

The arch of colors disappeared after a little bit, but the picture was still flourishing in my head. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, they were so pretty in person. I wondered if it were possible to touch it. I yearned to touch it, to lay on it, to nap on it. My insides gleamed with happiness. I don't know where it came from, but I felt free and unstoppable.

"What are we going to do if we don't find a town?" Paisley asked as she ran from behind

She was bouncing.

"Aren't you happy, today?" I replied

"I asked a question and I am awaiting a reply."

"Maybe you aren't as happy as I thought." I said as I stuck my tongue out at her

"I'm waiting…"

She was so persistent. It was quite annoying. I knew I had to face the truth. I wanted to answer, but I didn't know how to say "I didn't know." I was always taught to have an answer for every problem in school, and it was so hard to say that I didn't know. I was trying to get away from that touchy subject, but Paisley wouldn't let me.

"Paisley, I—I just don't know." I stumbled out

"I thought you had this all planned out…don't you?"

"Some things are too hard to plan in advance. Just relax and let our fate pave a path in front of us."

"Keagan, since when did you become so laid back?"

"Since when did you become so pessimistic? You used to always find something positive in something negative. You've changed Paisley, and I'm not sure it's for the better." I blurted out

I said too much. I shouldn't put that on such a young child. Or is it time for her to face the facts? I know she understands what a pessimist is, so it wasn't like she didn't understand it. Maybe it's good for her, maybe.

"Why are you so mean to me, Keagan? I don't get what I did wrong…if I even did anything wrong." She said with tear filled eyes

"KEAGAN!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR SISTER?" I heard something coming from behind me

It was my mother. Her golden hair bounced crazily. She was furious or at least her faced looked it. I was a little scared, because I never usually get in trouble. I guess It was my time.

"I did no wrong mother. I simply told Paisley the truth about her. That she has been acting like a pessimist lately."

She hugged Paisley tightly and gave me a stern look. I guess no matter how mature she is she still had the emotions of a toddler.

"Momm!" I groaned

"Keagann!" my mother mocked

I stormed towards Lina and Doon who were still leading at the front. My mother obviously was to protective of Paisley, but I didn't want to make her feel bad about it. I was annoyed with Paisley for taking what I said so harshly like I was trying to intentionally hurt her. That was not my intention at all. I just let my mouth carry my thoughts out of my head. Like I said, I said too much.

"Keagan, I know you have the best intentions, you just don't know how to show them, quite yet." Lina suggested

"Lina, I don't need any excuses, my actions are my actions. Please can we just forget about it?" I replied

"Forget about what?" Lina said with a big smile

"I don't know" I smiled back

"Stop being all, I'm your best friend. We need to have some kind of plan you know." Doon said in disgust

"Plans, yes we need plans." Lina said

They're sounding like Paisley.

"What can we plan? We find people when we find them. No one can control it…" I said

"Well we can plan when we're going to have dinner and things like that. So when and what are we having for dinner?" Doon asked as if I were some stupid person

"We'll have the only thing we can have, fruit. We can have dinner when the light source sets below the ground. I think it's best if we have a snack now, people are getting cranky." I stated

"It's a plan!" cheered Lina and Doon

"Everyone! We would like your attention for a few moments. We're going to take a short break to have a snack. The more energy we have, the sooner we will be able to find somewhere to stay the night. As said before we have pears, apples, oranges, cherries, and peaches. I hope this will make everyone a little more cheery. You can just come grab a fruit and sit down somewhere close by. Please don't go into the woods. We would like to have everybody we started with when we reach a city." I yelled so everyone heard

"Don't take too long to eat your fruit; we must be on our way soon." Lina added

Everyone hurried up to grab a fruit. I took a pear. I watched as the famished refugees ate their fruit. They all look like pigs, whatever pigs looked like. It was always a fun expression even no one knew what a pig was.

TO BE CONTINUED

_AN: I am sorry this took so long to update, but I was elaborating it. I didn't add a ton of detail, but more than I usually would. I would like to say I look forward to finishing the series which will be in the next one or two chapters. If you have any further comments please review! Thanks! _


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